What’s new with the new 3G iPhone? Well, 3G of course and GPS. There’s a list of slightly incremental enhancements such as the black back, flush head phone jack, rounder shape, and so forth; but there’s still a few key missing features:

1. More disk space – same 8 and 16 gig versions
2. Better camera – same 2MP, no autofocus camera (which is almost useless for advanced features)
3. No video recording – which might be able to be upgraded via software
4. No MMS – are you serious?
5. Copy and paste – a huge mistake but again, possible via software upgrade.

What is good about the 3G iPhone?

Other than the 3G and GPS as stated above, it has better battery life. 10 hours on 2G vs. 8 hours on old phone; and it has 5 hours on 3G. Oh, one more big thing, ATT is subsidizing it. The iPhone is now:

$199

Ouch, I can live with that, but what’s in it for me?

Early adopters, no worries. If you bought the iPhone after May 27, 2008, you can swap it for the new iPhone. If you bought it even earlier like me, you’re stuck. You can pay $199, sign another 2 year contract (which voids your old contract and the clock starts over again).

Most of the most exciting enhancements will be via software 2.0, to be released in early July. Some of the most exciting updates will be:

• Enterprise support for MS Exchange Server
• Applications, and some really cool games
• Better e-mail app – including bulk delete/move
• Contacts search
• Scientific calculator
• E-mail attachment support for iWork and MS Office

Also very promising is mobile me, a personal enterprise solution of push e-mail, contacts, calendar, and more. It’s an update to the .Mac service. I look forward to doing a more in depth review of this feature when it comes out. It allows your phone to sync up with many different computers and with your phone.

Final regrets?

Video rentals use to mean driving to the movie rental store, walk around the shelves and looking for the latest releases (hoping that all copies weren’t check out), driving the DVD back home, watching it, and then returning it (more often than not, paying a late fee). While not a new concept, various providers are marketing downloadable movies. Faster broadband connections means a movie can be downloaded in about 30 minutes, or less with a fast connection. I recently tried out two services: Apple iTunes movie rentals and Amazon.com unboxed on Tivo. The selection isn’t always complete but as the services mature, it appears that the latest hits are available.

Amazon Unbox on Tivo

I was able to browse, albeit slowly through the Tivo interface, a small selection of movie rentals on Amazon. Rentals are approximately $3.99 and can be as low as $0.99 for less popular or special deals. Tivo requires the download to be complete before you can start watching the movie. Once downloaded–about 30 minutes–I was able to watch my movie.

Apple iTunes

Similar to Amazon, iTunes operates the same way. Once downloaded, you have 30 days to watch the rental and once the movie plays, you can watch it as many times as you want in a 24 hour period. The resolution is 640×480 and works on iPods and iPhones. After the rental period, the file is disabled and removed from your system.

Benefits

While quality is not DVD, it works well for a quick download before a flight, or packing it along on your iPhone for some entertainment while on the road. I also found it very convenient compared to the traditional movie rentals. For all you green folks, it’s one less car trip to the store and back.

Bottom Line

The price is very fair: $3.99. Selections are decent. The selling factor is convenience. Unless you’re looking for theater quality viewing, the experience is good enough.